The bicycle industry is constantly searching for new ways to reduce the costs of manufacturing bicycles in order to remain competitive with respect to other products, especially since the arrival of roller blades on the market.
Known in the art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,372 (PATTERSON et al.) which describes a bicycle gear shifting system having a rotative speed shifter integrated in the grip of the handlebar so that the cyclist does not have to remove his hands from the grip to change the speeds. The rotative speed shifter has a lobed cam mechanism that pulls or releases the speed control cable, thereby causing speed shifts. Although the grip is a part of the speed shifter, the manufacturing costs thereof remain high in view of the complexity of the mechanism.